Shoe



D. STARK June I6, 1931.

SHOE

Filed Nov. 12. 1928 l Patented June 16, 1931 i DAVD STARK, 01E' RVERNE YORK SHOE ' implication med November 12,1928. serial no. 318,703. 5 y

v This invention relates to, shoes, and'v provides improvements therein.V

lMany people in "walking, very opuic'zlilyw 1- run their shoes over at the side and destroy theshape ol". their shoes. rThis is particularly the case with women, particularly with light h-ighLhee'led shoes such as largely wornbythem.' VVOmen, especially heavy women, will destroy the shape of a'pair ofrshoes l0 in a weel ,a11d will wear the soles throngh `atY theI out-erfedge within two weeks. Y

This is dueto initial wear at the'heel come bin'ed with a careless wayjof walking, due either to 'hab-iter to weakness in the ankles. l5 The heel ot the shoe instead oi .standing straightstands at an incline, 'the shoe twists in the shank, and all of the weight and wear are `lthrown at the outer side of the shoe,` 4 about under the little toe V 25 The present inventionprovides means for improving the'r conditions set forth above, incident to the use of shoes, providing shoes which give greater wear and keep their` shape longer whenfworn by careless orimproper 25 walkers. K

i According to my invention, I make the shoe so that three points or spots on the sole and heel are joined so esto maintain said three points orspotsin their original 3f)v position; .that is,y in the position of said spots, with'v relation to the plane ofthe ground or pavement, or iloor, which said points or spots have when the shoe is new. This rc# su'lt is attained by providing 'the shoe with 35' avreinforcement between said three points,

conveniently referred to as a tripod reinforcement. The reinforcement extends from the heel to a position about under the little 40. toe of the foot of the user. Opposite the little toe the reinforcement does not extend beyond the metatarsal portion of the foot,

rallowing bending of the toes on the inner side ofthe foot. n Y

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

connection with which the invention will be more fully described.

In said drawings,- Y Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ladys insole lining. 'Y n 'Numeral 25 designates the part herein reshoe -*showing in dotted lines application of the tripod reinforcement thereto.

2 is a top plan view of the Ytripod reinforcement. y Y v.

Fig is a longitudinalr sectional View of the shoe and reinforcement shown rin `Fig. '1. Fig. is a plan view of a shoe Vfollowing the innersole of the shoe. f

lFigs. 5 ande are rear views ofshoes. Referring to said drawings', numeral 10 designates' a shoe, here shown ras a light womans shoe, a type of shoe which readily loses its shape, especially when worn by heavy women, when-the wearer does not walk properly. y

Numeral 12 designates the outer sole, of usual construction,v and numeral 14 the heel, which may be a wooden 'heel of,usualconstrnctionlitted with a bottom or leather tip l5.y Numeral 17 vdesignates the linner sole,

andv vnumeral 2O the upper, which may be hold4 etween the mnersole-and the outer sole in usual manner. Numeral 22 designates the ferred toas the tripod reiniorce'ment.'V The part 25 is conveniently .formed of metal, conforming tothe shape of the insole. Part 25-extends `under three points of the i'oot upon the ground, when standing.`V That is,

it extends from a point ori spot a under the heel to al pointrr or spot Z) under the ball oi' the foot, andto a point c' adjacentthe little toe `at the outer side ofthe' foot; l

The part 25 has the contour-"of the shoe and is placed in Ithe shoe, and ispreferablyv built therein, as here shown. rrlfhe part' 25 is Y Conveniently located above the innersole, and

below the inner sole lining 22, soasto be covered thereby, and `thereby preserving the ordinary appearance ofthe shoe; f

y, vrlhe said part 25isfmadestiiily resistant to -to'rsion,'so as to resist any change in the tripod pointsa, o of the shoe during use.

That is, 'when a person v,walks on theouter side of'their foot, for any cause, the heel wears'onfone side, as shown in Figy, and shifts oitz to oneside, so that `in lsuch a misshapen shoe the tripod points now` have the position al, b, c, Fig. l

The front part 27 of the plate is preferably attached to the shoe, and for this purpos-e may be provided with a plurality of small holes 29 through which nails may be driven into the sole and heel of the shoe and clinched.

In order to more rigidly reinforce the heel, the reinforcing part 25 may be provided with a projection 31 adapted to extend down into a suitable slot or opening formed in the heel. By means of this heel extension 31, the heel is maintained rigidly perpen-dicular to the plate or part 25.

As shown at 33, this extension 3l may be conveniently struck out of the part 25, and extends transverse of the shoe.

VJ ith a shoe provided with the present tripod reinforcement, the points of the tripod, as illustrated at point-s a, c, Fig. 4, are prevented from shifting when the wearer puts her foot down, heel first. If the wearer walks on the side of her foot, when the point c strikes the ground, the bearing is unstable, and the v-earers weight and instinct causes her to bring the shoe down so that there are three points of bearing on the ground,

under the points a, Z9, c of the tripod. rThis action persists during the use of a shoe, and by preserving the relative position of the tripod points a, c, a shoe is prevented from getting into the misshapen condition shown in Fig. 5, and a shapely condition such as illustrated in Fig. 6 is preserved. The bending of the foot, as in walking is restricted only slightly, if at all, as the shoe from and i forward of the ball of the foot on the big toe side is free to flex, the only eect of the stiness of the sole under the little toe, being to force the user to bend the foe-t on the big-toe side, rather than on the little-toe side. The wearing of shoes embodying the present invention not only preservesthe shape of the shoe, but increases the life of the heel and the sole, as the wear is distributed more evenly over the heel and the sole, and, moreover, such a shoe has a corrective influence on persons who walk improperly or carelessly.

The inventionmay receive other embodiments than that herein specifically illustrated` and described.

What is claimed is y 1. A shoe having a tripod metal reinforcement in the bottom thereof of substantially the width of the shoe sole extending less than the length of the sole and from the heel to points at opposite sides of the sole, adjacent the little toe and adjacent the ball of the foot,

the part adjacent the little toe being forward of the part adjacent the ball of the foot, said reinforcement by torsional resistance acting to counteract displacement of the heel of the shoe from its normal position in the tripod relation which it bears to two points in the sole under the little toe and' under the ball of the foot.

2. A shoe having a tripod reinforcement in the bottom thereof of substantially the width of the shoe sole extending less than the length of the sole and from the heel to points at opposite sides of the sole, adjacent the little toe and adjacent the ball of the foot, the part adjacent the little toe being forward of the part adjacent the ball of the foot, and having a shank portion stiiiiy resistant to torsion, said reinforcement by torsional resistance acting to counteract displacement of the heel of the shoe from its normal position in the tripod relation which it bears to two points in the sole under the little toe and under the ball of the foot.

3. A shoe having a tripod reinforcement in the bottomthereof, said reinforcement comprising a metal plate of substantially the width of the shoe-sole, stiifly resistant to torsion, having a portion firmly attached to the heel of the shoe, and a sole portion less than the length of the sole of the shoe and having portions adapted to extend under the ball of the footon one side and under a portion of the foot adjacent the little toe on the other side, the part adjacent the little toe being forward of the part adjacent to the ball of the foot, said reinforcement by torsional resistance acting to counteract displacement of the heel of the shoe from its normal position in the tripod relation which it bears to two points in the sole under the Ylittle toe and under the ball of the foot.

4f. A shoe having a metal reinforcement in the bottom thereof of substantially the width of the shoe sole extending from the heel to a position adjacent the little toe on the little toe side, and extending forward a less distance on the opposite side, whereby the shoe is flexed more readily under the foot on the big toe side than on the little toe side, said reinforcement by torsional resistance acting to counteract displacement of the heel of the shoe from its normal position in the tripod relation which it bears to two points in the sole under the little toe and under the ball of thepfoot, thereby correcting walking and preserving the shape of the shoe.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

DAVID STARK. 

